Monday, June 6, 2011

No Band Aids, Please....

I saw two homeless boys walking down the street. One was teaching the other one about what to do. The teacher pointed to a shop and said, "You can get free food from that place." As they walked further, they spotted a can for disposing cigarettes. I don't know what they expected there, but they opened it and pawed around in it.


They continued on their walk. Laughter, smiles, an occasional motioning with the hands to indicate some other bit of news about the surroundings. They could easily be mistaken as just two young boys on a walk...except they were carrying their lives on their back.

The sight of these two 20 something year old young men brought a myriad of questions to my mind. Where were their mothers? Where were their fathers? How about siblings? were they really happy being homeless and wandering about poking in trash trays while sourcing out free places to eat? What can I do to help find a place for them to stay? Would they want to stay in a place I offered?

It is cold. It is rainy. My heart feels sad for those two young men and their mothers. If I knew my son was wandering the streets, I would be so sad. I am sad for those two young men and for all the other young men, women, children, and older people who are homeless. At our church, last year, we distributed 'care packages' so that when we met someone in need we could talk to them and hand them a package. It had some essentials- if was hot there was water, food, information on free medical clinics and some tissues, etc.  When the weather turned a bit colder, the packages contained socks, warming pads, and food. These packages were great but they are mere band aids.  I want more than a band aid cure for those in need.

7 comments:

  1. nicely written
    yes we want more than band aid cure for needy once.

    ReplyDelete
  2. @Anjuili,

    Very good issue you brought up here. Honestly in the USA, there are several shelters for homeless people where they can go and stay but recently most shelters are full. Church plays a big part in providing food and clothing to homeless people and funding these shelters.

    Situation is worst in places like India....no possibility of help and people sleep on roads, under the bridges or wherever they can find the place.

    Life is so unfair - one knows when you see these people.

    ReplyDelete
  3. "These packages were great but they are mere band aids. I want more than a band aid cure for those in need."
    I know exactly what you mean. for years i worked in the non-profit sector, i was such an idealist....slowly the frustration got to me..coz i knew i just wasnt doing "more than a band aid cure"....it kinda makes me sad somtimes that i gave up

    ReplyDelete
  4. @ Sneha, A, and limenlemons - I think the key is to not give up...because even though we may just be applying bandages at some points...at least we are doing something- however, we shouldn't be satisfied with those temporary measures and always strive to find a long term solution.

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  5. you write wonderful posts- coming straight from your heart. You are a very noble and sensitive person. Nice to know you.

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  6. @ Kiran - Thank you so much!! I love your blog!

    ReplyDelete
  7. Very thought provoking post, Anjuli.

    ReplyDelete

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